Disc brake pads are used in a variety of vehicles of varying size, including motorcycles, automobiles, and trucks, and generally include a backing plate and a friction pad attached to the backing plate. The size and shape of the brake pads, backing plates, and/or friction pads may vary depending upon such things as the size and/or weight of the vehicle with which they are used. Further, the size and shape of the friction pad may include features such as slots and/or notches for various reasons, one of which being a desire to reduce brake squeal. For example, as shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,151,433 B2 and U.S. Pat. No. 8,505,698 B2, brake noise may be reduced by modifying the shape of conventional friction pads to include chamfers near the edges of the friction pads, various transverse slots in the friction pads, and U- or V-shaped notches.
Beyond brake noise, other performance issues arise with brake pads, including stopping power, stopping distance, wear resistance, manufacturability, thermal management, and driver pedal response. There is thus a continuing need to develop brake pads that address these and other performance characteristics of the pads in a way that can easily be adapted for different vehicle platforms.